Professor Turk McCleskey received his doctorate from The College of William and Mary in 1990 and joined the VMI faculty in 1994. His research and publications focus on the eighteenth-century colonial American frontier; his book, The Road to Black Ned’s Forge: A Story of Race, Sex, and Trade on the Colonial American Frontier, is about the first free black landowner west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. His present research involves the numerical and social analysis of civil litigation in colonial Virginia. In addition to both halves of the Introduction to United States History, Professor McCleskey teaches courses entitled Historical Methodology, Colonial America, and African American Experience. He offers two capstone seminars, the American Revolution and North American Indians.

Professor McCleskey’s teaching and contributions to the Virginia Military Institute have been recognized with the VMI Foundation’s Award for Distinguished Teaching (1999), the Faculty Mentor Award (2002), and the VMI Achievement Medal (2005).

The VMI experience is framed by relevant education within a military environment. It’s an education that develops character, fosters a lifelong appreciation of physical fitness,engenders a sense of responsibility to others, and cultivates
the ability to master adversity.